Phosphorus pools in soil after land conversion from silvopasture to arable and grassland use

Differences in soil P among silvopasture, grassland, and arable lands have been well established. Nevertheless, most of the reports compare soil properties under long‐term sites. Thus, there exists little information on the effect of the conversion of silvopasture to arable or grassland use on soil P pools. The objective of the study was to determine the impact of converting silvopasture system (SP) into arable cropping and grassland system on the distribution of P pools and potential P bioavailability. We compared the following systems: SP system, SP converted to arable cropland (SP‐AL), SP converted to grassland (SP‐GL), and for comparative purposes, a long‐term arable cropland (AL). The P fractionation was performed by a sequential extraction scheme, using acid and alkaline extractants on samples collected from the 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil layers. It was assumed that the large variations in soil‐P fractionations are caused by the different management practices associated with land conversion. The results of P fractionation showed a dominance of calcium‐bound P, HCl‐extractable Pi constituted up to 36% of the soil total P (TP). However, the type of land use did not affect this P fraction. On the other hand, the reduction in labile‐P_i and NaOH‐P_i fractions observed at the SP‐AL site may have led to the decline in readily available P. The soil total organic P (TP_o) content was 8% and 17% lower at SP‐AL compared to SP and SP‐GL site, respectively. Labile organic‐P (labile‐P_o) content was markedly higher at SP site compared to arable soils, and was ≈ 10% of TP_o. The NaOH‐P_o constituted the highest fraction of the organic‐P pool (55%–79% of TP_o) across all the study systems, and was positively correlated with TP_o (p < 0.01). The study indicates that conversion of SP system in temperate regions to arable cropping with conventional tillage seems to result in the reduction of P availability compared to SP, indicating SP as an important land‐use practice.     

Phytoextraction of Pb and Cd from a contaminated agricultural soil using different EDTA application regimes: Laboratory versus field scale measures of efficiency

Enhanced phytoextraction of heavy metals using chelating agents and agricultural crops is widely discussed as a remediation technique for agricultural soils contaminated with low mobile heavy metals. In this study, phytoextraction efficiency of Zea mays after single and split applications of EDTA was tested on the laboratory and the field scale. EDTA effectively increased the mobility of target heavy metals (Pb and Cd) in the soil solution. Split applications provided generally lower water-soluble levels of Pb and Cd both in the pot and the field experiment. Therefore, the risk of groundwater contamination may be reduced after split applications. Higher Pb and Cd mobilisation after single applications increased plant stress, phytotoxicity and reduced plant dry above-ground biomass production compared to corresponding split doses. Single doses enhanced plant uptake of Pb and Cd and the phytoremediation efficiency compared to corresponding split doses. Results of plant dry above-ground biomass and heavy metal uptake obtained from the pot experiment could be to some extent verified in the field experiment. Plant uptake of Pb and Cd was lower and biomass production dropped after EDTA additions in the field experiment. Remediation factors in the field experiment were in general significantly lower than in the pot experiment mainly due to the much higher mass of soil per plant under field conditions. This highlights the limitations when going from the lab to the field scale. The low phytoremediation efficiency in the field and the mobilisation of high amounts of Pb and Cd down the soil profile may make the use of EDTA and Z. mays not suitable for the remediation of severely heavy metal contaminated soils in a reasonable time frame and may result in substantial groundwater pollution under used crop management.     

Isotopologue ratios of N2O emitted from microcosms with NH4 fertilized arable soils under conditions favoring nitrification

Soils represent the major source of the atmospheric greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) and there is a need to better constrain the total global flux and the relative contribution of the microbial source processes. The aim of our study was to determine variability and control of the isotopic fingerprint of N₂O fluxes following NH₄⁺-fertilization and dominated by nitrification. We conducted a microcosm study with three arable soils fertilized with 0–140 mg NH₄⁺–N kg⁻¹. Fractions of N₂O derived from nitrification and denitrification were determined in parallel experiments using the ¹⁵N tracer and acetylene inhibition techniques or by comparison with unfertilized treatments. Soils were incubated for 3–10 days at low moisture (30–55% water-filled pore space) in order to establish conditions favoring nitrification. Dual isotope and isotopomer ratios of emitted N₂O were determined by mass spectrometric analysis of δ¹⁸O, average δ¹⁵N (δ¹⁵N^bulk) and ¹⁵N site preference (SP = difference in δ¹⁵N between the central and peripheral N positions of the asymmetric N₂O molecule). N₂O originated mainly from nitrification (>80%) in all treatments and the proportion of NH₄⁺ nitrified that was lost as N₂O ranged between 0.07 and 0.45%. δ¹⁸O and SP of N₂O fluxes ranged from 15 to 28.4‰ and from 13.9 to 29.8‰, respectively. These ranges overlapped with isotopic signatures of N₂O from denitrification reported previously. There was a negative correlation between SP and δ¹⁸O which is opposite to reported trends in N₂O from denitrification. Variation of average ¹⁵N signatures of N₂O (δ¹⁵N^bulk) did not supply process information, apparently because a strong shift in precursor signatures masked process-specific effects on δ¹⁵N^bulk. Maximum SP of total N₂O fluxes and of nitrification fluxes was close to reported SP of N₂O from NH₄⁺ or NH₂OH conversion by autotrophic nitrifiers, suggesting that SP close to 30‰ is typical for autotrophic nitrification in soils following NH₄⁺-fertilization. The results suggest that the δ¹⁸O/SP fingerprint of N₂O might be used as a new indicator of the dominant source process of N₂O fluxes in soils.     

Hydrocarbons Emissions from a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Pilot Plant in Vienna

Hydrocarbons emissions were measured from an aerationtank of a municipal wastewater treatment pilot plant. The collected off-gas samples werecharacterised for C₂–C₇ hydrocarbons usingGC-FID analytical technique while the total volatileorganic compounds (TVOC) were measured using acontinuous hydrocarbon gas analyser. Approximately,the estimated emission rates for 1 m³ of wastewaterfrom this aeration tank were 5 mgC of C₂–C₇hydrocarbons, and an average of 7 gC of TVOC. Withexception to toluene, all other measured hydrocarbonsare emitted less than 1 mgC day^-1. The results supportthe view that a significant reduction in annualemissions of hydrocarbons from wastewater treatmentplants in Vienna has taken place.